Investigators in the U.K. are looking into allegations that Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted and possibly drugged a 23-year-old aspiring actor in 2008, Variety reported Friday.
Mr. Spacey was the artistic director at The Old Vic Theater in Lambeth at the time of the alleged incident.
The man claims he and Mr. Spacey smoked marijuana together in the latter’s London flat, and that he subsequently passed out. The man alleges that he woke up to find Mr. Spacey was performing oral sex on him and that he told him to stop and quickly left the apartment, Variety reported. Mr. Spacey, he alleges, told him to keep the matter quiet.
Variety said the man came forward to City of London police Tuesday, and that that complaint was forwarded along to sex-crimes detectives at Scotland Yard the following day.
Harvey Weinstein, the high-powered producer whose history of sexual misconduct set off an avalanche of allegations against other Hollywood heavyweights, is similarly under investigation in the U.K.
On Tuesday, The Independent reported that authorities are looking into incidents involving 11 incidents alleged by seven different women. The earliest of the claims dates back to the late 1980s.
Unlike the United States where sex crimes in some states cannot be prosecuted after a certain period of time has elapsed, the United Kingdom has no statute of limitations on sexual-assault cases, according to the BBC.
For its part, Mr. Spacey’s former employer, The Old Vic, is encouraging individuals who have complaints against any current or former staff to contact the theater.
“If you have been connected with The Old Vic or in our employment and feel you have a complaint that you were unable to raise, please contact us on confidential@oldvictheatre.com,” it said in a statement, reported Deadline Hollywood Tuesday. “Any experience shared will be treated in the utmost confidence and with sensitivity. We have appointed external advisors to help us deal with any information received.”
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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